As is well known, vehicles occasionally suffer mechanical failures, the most common being flat tires. Occasionally, a supplemental light is required to diagnose and/or repair the particular problem, particularly at night. When such mishaps occur, the operator may not have a flashlight or other source of light to assist them in resolving the problem.
Many vehicles come equipped with an engine compartment light which is fixed to the underside of the engine compartment hood and is turned on when the hood is raised. Similarly, the trunk or storage compartment may also be equipped with a light fixture which is turned on when the trunk lid or compartment door is opened. Such lamps are typically fixed in place and broadly cast light into the compartment leaving portions of the compartment in shadows. One example of such a light fixture is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,521 to Poleschuk.
In the past, vehicles have also been equipped with compartment lights which are detachable to illuminate specific areas of interest. Such a light fixture is connected by a length of wire to the vehicle power supply, and typically includes a bulb mounted in a socket, which, in turn, is fixed to a structure removable from the vehicle. A reflector may be located adjacent the bulb to direct light from the bulb in a specific direction. Many of the prior structures have also included a space to store the conductor wire when not in use.
Significant disadvantages associated with such light fixtures include the inability to seal the bulb and socket from the elements, thus resulting in a failure of the light fixture due to rust, corrosion, and shorting of the bulb contacts in the base. Moreover, many of the previous structures did not provide a beam of light sufficiently focused to strongly illuminate a particular area, but, broadly cast the light from the bulb and an adjacent reflector. A related problem was the inability to support such prior light fixtures in a desired position to properly direct the light. In many cases, the fixture had to be held during use thereby restricting the user's ability to use both hands on a required repair or similar task. In addition, the prior light fixtures did not provide a convenient method for reeling in and paying out the conductor cable used to power the bulb. Further, none of the prior detachable compartment light fixtures were contained in a single, compact, ergonomic package.
The present light assembly was conceived in recognition of and as a solution for these and other related problems with prior known vehicle light fixtures.